I have had 8 tiny baby ones land on me this year...a couple were still clear and one was almost transparent....I thought it was a spider and almost squished it...but I've moved them each to a safe place where they should have been able to find food and grow safely...Still I've been contemplating what kind of omen it is to have 8 preying mantisis land on you when prior we've been lucky to see one over the summer...
@Trish, How long do they live? We had a Giant one about five inches long in the flower bed one year...and of course I'd never kill one...so after we captured her and showed her to the kids we let her go...
YES Susan...Just Give Your Local Nursery a Call and See if they will Carry them Next Spring. Lady bugs Too...You Can Also get Them On Line...But The Shipping Is Very Expensive... Because They Have To Be Shipped Over Nite Mail...@ Sharron Unfortunately...Mantis Only Live 10~12 months...8 Babies...That's Awesome They Must Have Just Hatched...
Last summer when I was driving, I had one on my windshield. He was holding on for dear life! When I got where I was going I put him in the car. After I got home, I let him in the yard. He was like: What an adventure I had today!
Becky J. - wow! That's awesome. Yu mean he just stayed put and you were able to find him when you got home??
Trish - thanks so much for that info. I'll definitely be calling a couple of my local nurseries about mantis cocoons!! That's just sooo amazing. I had absolutely no idea that could be done.
I had no idea you could buy them at nurseries. How neat.
As for the lady bugs. Hardly a year goes by that we don't have more than enough to share. I could go into business these? 8^) LOL Just kidding. Sort of.....
The picture below was taken of just a few (in comparison to how many we found that day yes, just a few) that fell out of the screening cap when we were replacing the screens on our screened in porch that the grasshoppers had eaten.
I know Sharron! far and few between now :( these Asian ladybugs are such a nuisance! Let me tell you I get loads of them in every corner of the diningroom and upstairs in my hall and don't get me started on them flying at me when I'm at the bathroom mirror! This all happens in the fall and spring and I'm downright evil with the vacuum cleaner donning mask and gloves! then I have to wash the walls and such. grrr! I should try to find some of the pictures I've taken and post them
...»
here. and one bit me one time last year and I still have a mark!
It's a good idea to buy American Ladybugs so we can increase the numbers again :)
Susan S: it was more complicated than that! LOL. I thought I lost him when I was in Walmart and he got down by my feet when I was driving. So I had to be super careful....I just wanted him in my yard.
Trish, love your pet! Wish I had a few. I've not seen any in years; perhaps it has something to do with so many having yard services and spraying everything so often.
Yep Marg, I know they are Japanese. "Beetles" actually. I looked them up after the first year we were here in hopes of finding out how to rid ourselves of so many. We live in a country neighborhood surrounded by corn and soybean fields which I'm sure is why we have so many. We rarely saw them when we lived in the city.
We've been lucky enough to get very few in the house even when we leave the french doors open
...»
to the screened in porch. We're planning on adding carpeting as soon as it cools down to keep them from getting on the porch at all.
I read to use Dawn (blue) dish soap mixed with water in a spray bottle to squirt them with. They drop like crazy once hit. We did use our shop vac to clean up the mess outside like the ones I shared a picture of above.
Thank you Marg C. I read about people complaining about ladybugs & I thought they were crazy. I didn't know about the Asian. Now I will check each ladybug head to see if he/she has a "M" at the top of the head.
WOW!! I Guess I'm Lucky...I Have No Problem with the Asian ones...Perhaps because Every Yr We Buy Our Lady Bugs from Star Nursery.They Are American.We Turn a Container or 2 loose in our yard and our Neighbors...My Neighbors and I get Bug Service...But Only on The Inside of our Houses.We Have a Pretty Great Lil Eco System in our Neighbor hood...Tons of Kids and Small Pets.So We Use Kid and Pet Friendly Pest Control if Needed.With all The Lady Bugs and Mantis I Release every yr.and The Toads
...»
Everywhere For Being a Block away From The River You Would NEVER Know It...We Also Have Bats that live close By and Visit every Nite...
Becky I think you have to go back up to Marg's post right under the pictures of the piles of ladybugs. She has a link to an article about the asian variety.
Trish - thanks so much for that info. I'll definitely be calling a couple of my local nurseries about mantis cocoons!! That's just sooo amazing. I had absolutely no idea that could be done.
As for the lady bugs. Hardly a year goes by that we don't have more than enough to share. I could go into business these? 8^) LOL Just kidding. Sort of.....
The picture below was taken of just a few (in comparison to how many we found that day yes, just a few) that fell out of the screening cap when we were replacing the screens on our screened in porch that the grasshoppers had eaten.
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef...
It's a good idea to buy American Ladybugs so we can increase the numbers again :)
We've been lucky enough to get very few in the house even when we leave the french doors open ...»
I read to use Dawn (blue) dish soap mixed with water in a spray bottle to squirt them with. They drop like crazy once hit. We did use our shop vac to clean up the mess outside like the ones I shared a picture of above.